Dancing in the Rain

 

 

I love to rest in the Lord, because it is such a peaceful place in which to abide. Regardless of the storm raging all around us, we know that our salvation, protection and provision come only from God. In Him, we are never shaken or alone (Psalm 62:1-2). 

 

I picture myself crawling up into Jesus' lap and taking a nap; a peaceful nap, like He took on the boat with His apostles (Matthew 8:23-27). Though they were fearful of the raging storm that appeared unexpectedly, Jesus slept on until the frightened men woke Him up to save them. He arose and calmed the storm.

 

Resting in the Lord is an important part of our walk with Him. Abiding in a restful state of mind allows our body, soul and spirit to rejuvenate, to regain our stamina, and to maintain our focus on the Lord and His promises. God's peace, joy and strength infuse us with His spiritual energy to accomplish His will for us (Psalm 37:7; John 16:33).

 

When we are weary from the trials of life, and burdened by our responsibilities and demands on our life, He gives us His rest as we focus on Him through it all. We yoke up with Him, and He helps us to carry the weight of our load (Matthew 11:28-30; Revelation 6:11; Isaiah 14:3).

 

God gives us wings to rise above, as well as to rest in, the turmoil of life (Psalm 55:6). He invites us to come away with Him to a quiet place and to rest with Him (Mark 6:31-32). He enables us to lay down and to sleep in peace, because even in the midst of the storm, we dwell in safety (Philippians 4:6-7).

 

I received a card a few years ago that took me one step further than resting in the Lord. It said ...  "When the storm clouds gather, learn to dance in the rain." Not only do we enter His rest, but then we have fun in the midst of the trial by "dancing in the rain." 

 

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to rest in You, trust in You, and to have faith in Your faithfulness so that we can go one step further and “dance in the rain” without any inhibitions or fear of the future. We rest in each moment as You grant it to us, and we serve You and rely on Your goodness and provision for everything that we need to accomplish Your will for our life.

 

Each day, You give us provision for our spiritual, mental, emotional, financial, and physical well-being. Forgive us of our transgressions that grieve Your Spirit and that interrupt our fellowship with You. Help us to forgive those who wound our soul and body. We rest in Your presence within us, and You keep us in perfect peace as we focus our thoughts on You and trust only in You (Exodus 33:14; Isaiah 26:3).

 

Thought for the Day:

God gives us rest for our soul, and teaches us to "dance in the rain;" however, eventually the righteous are removed from this earth to be spared the evil prevalent in this land, and to find eternal rest as we enter God's peace forever.

- Isaiah 57:1-2; Hebrews 4:9-10

Members of Christ’s Body

 

 

As members of Christ’s Body, we enjoy a union, which transcends the bonds of our natural family, neighbors, acquaintances, or workmates. God’s Spirit joins us together in spirit, soul, and body. This bond goes deeper than any natural tie and lasts for eternity.

 

Conflict erects walls between us and shuts us off from enjoying our fellowship with one another. Hurt feelings create barriers and distance between us. Forgiveness is the key ingredient in destroying the walls and restoring sweet companionship.

 

God encourages us not only to love with words, but with deeds and in truth as well (1 John 3:18). We are holy and beloved by God; therefore, we can put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience as we bear with one another and forgive each other even as the Lord forgives us (Matthew 6:14-15). 

 

God’s agape love is unconditional, and it is the bond of perfection that keeps peace within the Body of Christ (Colossians 3:12-14). With God’s Spirit within us we are capable of abounding in this love to all the Saints, and having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 8:7; Mark 12:30-33).

 

When we focus our love on God, this bond creates our love for one another. We treat one another with patience and compassion, walk in love just as Jesus loves us, and lay down our life for each other when God leads us to do so (Ephesians 5:1-2; Romans 15:7). 

 

Preferring one another above our self, helps us to bear with each other’s personality quirks and idiosyncrasies (Colossians 3:13; Proverbs 19:11). Discontentment may tempt us to leave one church and find another; however, we take this attitude with us, and experience similar issues in any church we attend.

 

Prayer:

Father God, help us to communicate with others when we are offended, rather than hopping from one church to another. Remind us that the offense that arose was probably unintentional or maybe even misunderstood. Teach us that forgiveness of our self and others is the key to restoring Your peace in any situation (Proverbs 27:17).

 

Help us to see that discussing the matter with the offending party, or with them in the presence of the Pastor and a deacon may resolve the issue bothering us. Show us that the longer we stay with one church family, the more trust we build with the other members, and the deeper we experience love, care and community with them (1 John 2:10; Galatians 5:22-23).

 

Thought for the Day:

Satan often allows an offense to drive us from a church family that God wants to use to help us to mature spiritually or to use for us to help others in that congregation; therefore, fleshly considerations should never be our motivation for leaving, but rather to discern the will of God and to serve in the Body to which He calls us.

- Hebrews 13:17; Ephesians 4:2

 

The Trouble with Trusting

 

 

In this sin-cursed world, we have trouble trusting.  We are lied to all our life by many whom we are supposed to be able to trust. We even feel like God lets us down sometimes. We put our faith and trust in Him, and things do not work out the way we think they should. 

 

We get hurt, depressed, frustrated, and ANGRY; and then we start fighting back to protect our self. After 40 years of life, I ran out of steam. I was so tired of fighting all the bad circumstances in my life, as well as getting tossed around by the hopelessness and anxiety, which accompanied them. 

 

I kept saying, "God, I can’t trust, because life hurts." I walked around almost holding my breath. In fact, I ended up hyperventilating most of the time, because I never took deep breaths of life-giving air.

 

I continually braced myself against the next painful experience, never knowing when it would swoop down upon me. Most of the time I was on the offensive even more than on the defensive. One key that really helped me to stop this treadmill of discouragement was to realize that I often just needed to obtain clarification before over-reacting. 

 

I find so much comfort in Isaiah 30:18, Amplified Bible: “The Lord earnestly waits – expectant, looking, and longing -- to be gracious to you; that He may show loving kindness, and have mercy, and give favor, and victory, and peace, and love, and joy, (and the best part of all...)  and matchless, unbroken fellowship with Himself.”

 

God continually heals me of the issues that keep my soul in turmoil. I do not have greater faith than anyone else, but when satanic lies attempt to overwhelm me, I simply pray: “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief,” and He always does (Mark 9:24). 

 

Prayer: 

Father God, bad things are always going to happen to us in this sin-cursed world; but, You always work out ALL things, even the bad things, for our good (Romans 8:28). Every negative circumstance holds the seed for a miracle, if we will only trust You and look for it. Your strength is always perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).

 

When we are drowning in the pain of life, we do not have to be strong. You simply want us to yield to Your will and to perfectly trust in You (John 14:27). You call us to live a surrendered life and to look for the seed of a miracle in every negative circumstance. We merely need to pray, "Lord, I believe...help my unbelief."

 

Thought for the Day:

The key to opening the door to trust is to entirely surrender to the Lord, even when He does not work on our timetable; He can do in one day what it would take us a thousand years to accomplish, and in our instant society with our penchant for hating to wait for anything, He can make one day seem to us like a thousand years. 

- 2 Peter 3:8; Psalm 62:8-12

Success in Tribulation

 

 

We often think that God is punishing us or failing to protect us when we go through a trial. Sometimes, tribulation comes as a result of us reaping the consequences of our poor choices. At other times, we are so busy working for God that He cannot work in and through us (Ephesians 2:10). 

 

The key to success in tribulation is to learn to seek God’s guidance moment by moment, to rejoice regardless of the situation, to look for God’s hugs that He provides for us throughout the day, and to hide under the shelter of His wings (Psalm 61:4). 

 

For instance, my former husband of twenty-two years told me that he saw no option for us but divorce. This threw me into immediate turmoil. I thought our marriage would last until death parted us. He sold our home and struck out into the great unknown to seek his place in life.

 

I had to relocate, find several jobs to support myself and wonder where God was during all the pain and chaos. I knew that God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16; Matthew 19:9); and I married a Christian Pastor, so why was this happening to me? God immediately started to provide for me. 

 

Taking me back to my supportive, natural family, God put it in their hearts to take me under their wings. He healed my soul by opening the door at a Montessori training school and the opportunity to attend divorce recovery programs at two separate local churches. Through these classes I met new women friends experiencing similar circumstances. 

 

Confirming to me that He intended to provide for me and not to injure me, God gave me hope for my uncertain future (Jeremiah 29:11). Two years later I met and married a Pastor whose wife divorced him. God restored our ministries and gave us unconditional love through His presence in each other.

 

Prayer:

Father God, You love us enough to sacrifice Your Son on our behalf (John 3:16). You never leave us or forsake us (Hebrew 13:4-6). At times, You must discipline us for our errant behavior, or to prod us back on Your chosen path for us (Ephesians 2:10). It may be painful for a little while, but Your correction brings about in us Your peaceable fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11). 

 

Remind us that the disciples often found themselves in turmoil, but Jesus always came to them at just the right moment (Mark 6:48). When their hope ebbed, Jesus walked out to them on the water, and He provided for them time and again (Matthew 14:22-33). Daily, He walked with them, and they enjoyed His presence, wisdom, and guidance each moment of every day – just like we do by Your Spirit within us.

 

Thought for the Day:

Through His care for them, Jesus proved to the disciples that He truly was the Son of God, and tribulation is also our opportunity to grow deeper in our faith, love, union, and devotion to God; at times, blind faith is all that gets us through the murky waters of life but reading God’s Word always provides stability and hope for us.

– Hebrews 12:6-7

 

 

The Bible is True

 

 

My pastoral husband likes to say that we know without a doubt that the Bible is true, because its prophecies are true. Bible prophecies are exact predictions of future events, and they have a very slim chance of occurring by coincidence. No other prophets were ever as exact in their predictions as Bible prophecy. 

 

Nostradamus wrote in “codes” and predicted in generalities, and people interpreted most of his writing according to historical events. The most exciting of his prophecies were the ones pertaining to the end of times. These predictions mirror the Biblical accounts of the Great Tribulation, where various physical catastrophes repeatedly wipe out 1/3 of the earth.

 

Even in archeology and historic records, we see the exact details of the Bible confirmed. Discoveries such as the Tel Dan Stele (900-850 BC), the Meesha Stele (846 BC), the Nabonidus Cylinder (550 BC) and the Caiaphas Ossuary establish the veracity of the Bible. 

 

No archeological find has ever invalidated the Bible. In fact, proper research of Biblical references constantly leads to startling archeological discoveries. Even people formerly considered as fictional are proven by archeological finds to have lived just like the Bible stated.

 

Daniel foresaw the exact lineage of the four empires from Babylon to Medo-Persia to Greece to Rome. He predicted the spectacular rise of the Greek conqueror Alexander the Great to power, as well as the final division of his Greek empire by four of his surviving generals (Daniel 7:6, 8:5-8, 11:2-4). He also saw the demise of this dynasty as well as several others.

 

Ezekiel’s prophesied about the destruction of the Phoenician city Tyre (Ezekiel 26). Isaiah predicted the coming reign of the Persian King Cyrus — two hundred years before his birth (Isaiah 44:28). God even inspired Isaiah with other prophesies that God brought to pass (Isaiah 41:21-23, 48:3-5). 

 

Prayer:

Father God, I pray that You will open the eyes of the understanding of everyone who reads this post, so that they can see and comprehend the wonderful love You have for all of mankind. Your prophesies in Your Word give us courage to face the future, as well as the assurance that Your Word is true and faultless in every way.

 

You did not just speak the world into existence (Genesis 1:1) and then leave us to function on our own (Colossians 1:17; Psalm 18:35, 20:6, 138:7; Isaiah 41:10, 48:13). You are constantly involved in the lives of anyone who will give You the time in their day (Proverbs 3:5-6). Your presence in us draws us ever closer to Your heart. 

 

Thought for the Day:
Fulfilled biblical prophecy proves that the Bible is true, and those who heed biblical warnings, come to the fountains of living water within its pages for comfort, submit to the sanctifying words as they divide our soul and spirit, and share its truth with others that God brings our way, and are secure in this life and fulfilled to our fullest in an eternity in the physical presence of Jesus, our Brother and Savior and King.

- Hebrews 4:12; John 4:10-14, 17:17-23; Ephesians 3:19 

 

Sources of mentioned prophesies:

©Rivers in the Desert, by Dr. Nelson Glueck [New York, Grove, 1960], p. 31).

©2014 Answers in Genesis

©2011 Zev Radovan, www.BibleLandPictures.com

BiblePlaces.com/Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

©2011 The British Museum

 

 

A Good Marriage – Sharing Routine Activities

 

 

Solomon’s Song of Songs gives us several ideas on how to conduct our self while dating and throughout our eventual marriage. It is very practical and describes a lasting relationship and marital behavior that fosters feelings of love for one another.

 

This Biblical book covers areas like flirting, conversing (8:13-14), encouraging each other, helping one another, making romantic gestures and conversation, etc. Sharing our time, attention, and encouragement are the greatest gifts we can bestow on our spouse.

 

Communicating information about our past, our addictions, our financial status, our family medical status, a history of arrests, and other topics that are of great importance to us as an individual, are a vital step in starting any serious relationship on an even footing. Keeping secrets is very unhealthy.

 

This undisclosed information may influence our decision about how we feel about one another, and we should not keep it private until after we are married. Marrying someone simply because they love us or because marriage is the next step in our life plan are not a 

good foundation for marriage either. 

 

These errors are actually dishonest and deprive the other person of a life of love and devotion with someone who cherishes them more than anyone or anything else in the world. Marriage is a life-long commitment before God, our spouse, and the whole world. It is not a short-term arrangement to meet only our needs.

 

Prayerfully consulting the Lord on our weekly schedules, and including stress-free couple time, are other helpful activities to do together. It can be as mundane as doing household chores together, grocery shopping and discussing a meal plan for the week, running an errand together and chatting in the car, or a dinner just for two at the local diner. 

 

We can make a commitment to spend at least a short time every day to look into one another’s eyes, to hold each other, and to speak words of endearment to each other. This ensures one another of our love only for each other, and it also gives each of us unhurried time to communicate items in our individual life that are bothering us or that are heavy on our heart.

 

Prayer:

Father God, help us to make wise choices on how we spend our time, so that we do not ignore one another, or hurt each other’s feelings, or make each other feel insecure. Teach us to focus on our mate and to schedule time in each day to cherish and show affection to one another. Show us ways to spend more time as a couple and to join ministries that we can do together.

 

Remind us that even mundane chores, gardening, swinging on the porch swing, time in nature, hobbies, etc. that we do together will give us opportunities to chat about blessings, as well as to share any negative thoughts and emotions which we are having to work out in our soul. Show us that these shared times and experiences help us to bond and to firmly connect as a couple. We submit our life together to You for You to lead and guide us according to Your perfect plans for each of us.

 

Thought for the Day:

When our spouse wants to talk to us and we pay attention to one another this makes us feel like we matter; and when we express gratitude, even for the smallest gesture of kindness, this will encourage our spouse to share even more of their time and attention with us.

 

Feeling Safe by Meeting Needs

 

 

Before we do anything, it is vital for our spiritual growth to consult the Lord and live each moment in His perfect will for us (Proverbs 3:5-6; Ephesians 2:10). While living by the Spirit, we will all function as a valuable member of the Body of Christ. God places each of us in His Body as it pleases Him (Matthew 25:40).

 

What we do for others, we do for Him (Matthew 25:41). In this modern society, however, the Body of Christ is too busy for its own good. We neglect our Lord and one another, because we make our own pursuits more important than God’s will for our life (1 Peter 4:10; Ephesians 2:10). 

 

We disregard our fellow Believers because of the time-consuming and the energy-exhausting nature of our church programs, which competes with our own overly busy schedules (1 Corinthians 12:22). Years ago, the government took over so many of the church’s ministries because the needs went unmet. 

 

Take, for instance, the care of our elderly. They go unvisited and feel unwanted, because we do not make them a priority in our church family. Elderly Saints, who ministered for the Lord all their life, all need and deserve our attention. We can interact with them in many different ways. 

 

For instance, rides to doctor appointments, regularly visiting them, taking someone out to lunch, cards in the mail, phone calls, and praying with them for their requests are just a few ways that we can minister to our elderly. Our youth can rake their yard, we can give them rides with us to the grocery store, our skilled laborers can work together to make repairs on their home, etc.

 

Caring for the children attending our churches is another neglected ministry. We already raised our children, or we are in the process of raising them, and we want nothing to do with children's ministries in the Body of Christ, because we are already mentally and physically exhausted.

 

Most parents are so stressed out today that children's workers in the Body of Christ can fill in the gaps and encourage our children to grow up in service to God. Many adults give youth leaders credit for their own dedication to God. We influence eternity by our vital service to the children in our church body now.

 

Since very few people will commit to this ministry, many churches end up hiring people in order to have someone committed to the children. Our young people need Godly authority, responsibility, approval, and nurturing in the same way in which God relates to us (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).

 

Single parents need the most help. We can babysit to allow these exhausted parents a chance to allow their Inner Child to play. Gifting these hardworking adults with a certificate to go out to eat with friends or to buy whatever they need at a retail store is also helpful on their tight budget.

 

We can make time for God and His Body as a priority in our life by simplifying our own busy schedule. If we all band together as a church Body, the care required in these vital ministries will not be a burden on any one person but will be a blessing for everyone involved (Romans 15:7). Then, our church’s members – young and old - will never feel neglected (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

 

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to love Your Body as You love us. Allow us to be Your ambassadors to Your Body. Unconditional love and acceptance give Your Body the assurance we all crave as human beings, regardless of our age or social/economic status. Remind us to give one another grace in our failings and to encourage one another in our successes.

 

Give us listening ears, discernment, and the ability to recognize body language in order to be present in each moment that we are with one another, rather than taking each other for granted. Help us to make one another feel safe to share our issues with each other, so we can bear each other's burdens as You expect us to do (Galatians 6:2). We thank You for Your eternal presence in our life, and we worship You as our almighty God.

 

Thought for the Day:

If Satan can keep us in bondage to our schedule, he cripples us in our service to God and His Body; God calls the many working parts of His Body to unite together to serve in unison with each other and to show care to one another by doing our share to meet the needs of the whole body.

- 1 Corinthians 12:12-26